Railway-track construction



Feb. 9, 1926. I 1,572,131

H. ETHERIDGE RAILWAY TRACK CONSTRUCTION Filed August 15. 1924 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 F5. 5 5gb" Feb. 9 1926. 1,572,131

H. ETHERIDGE RAILWAY TRACK CONSTRUCTION Filed August 15 1924 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR Patented Feb. 9, 1926.

UNITED STATES HARRY ETHERIDGE, OF ZELIENOPLE, PENNSYLVANIA.

' RAILWAY-TRACK CONSTRUCTION.

Application filed. August 13, 1924.

T0 cZZ whom, it may concern:

Be it known that I, HARRY ETHERIDGE, a citizen of the United States of America, and residing at Zelienople, Butler County, Pennsylvania, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Railway-Track Construction, of which the following is a specification.

Among the important features of my present invention are the following.

The provision of a practical railway track construction without the use of cross ties or other transversely disposed rail supporting members.

The provision of such a railway track in which the connection between the parallel rails is formed by tie-rods.

The provisionof individual supports for each rail and spaced apart at proper distance to prevent undue flexing of therail under traffic. 1

The provision of novel means for attach ing the rails to their supports which permits the rails to freely expand and contract without tending to move the supports or to impair their connection with the rails.-

The provision of adequate electrical bonding of the track without requiring bonding of the joints.

Other novel features of construction, and also of arrangement of parts will appear from the following description.

In the accompanying drawings, which are however merely intended to illustrate the best embodiment of the principles of my invention now known to me, but not to limit the scope thereof to the construction shown, Fig. 1 is a broken plan view of a section of railway track; Fig. 2 is a side elevation view of one of the rail supports or blocks; Fig. 3 is a plan view of one of the joint supports or blocks; Fig. 4 isa side elevation of the same; Fig. 5 is an enlarged cross sectional view through a rail and one of the blocks supporting the same, showing the means for attaching the rail to the block; Fig. 6 is a detail ofthe same in side elevation, the concrete of the block being omitted to better show the anchor; Fig. 7 is a plan view of one of the metal anchors which are embedded in the blocks to provide means for Serial No. 731,751.

the same.

The followin is a detailed descri tion of l the drawings.

A and A represent the parallel rails of the track, each rail being individually supported by the rail blocks B and the joint blocks C. j

The rail blocks B are of concrete and of oblong shape. For standard inter-urban tracks I prefer to make the rail blocks about thirtysix inches long and about twenty-five inches in Width at the base. The sides and ends of the blocks are shouldered, as at 1 and the top edges bevelled off in a convex manner, as at 2, so that the blocks will nestfirmly in the ballast or roadbed and be anchored against any tendency to side slip or jump. The ballast is carried up to or nearly to the top level of the block. The upper surface of the block is provided with a shallow, sunken seat 3 in which is placed a resilient chairor soft rubber mat D upon which the rail rests, the mat being of sufficient thickness to prevent the rail from contacting with the top of the block.

The seat 3 extends longitudinally of the rail block B. Thejoint clocks C are similarly provided with seats 3. Thus the rails are longitudinally supported at frequent intervals by elastic mats which serve to take up the sudden jar and jolts incident to traflie, and thus protect the concreteof the blocks from rupture and breakage. If desired the seats 3 may be omitted and the mats placed on the fiat tops of the blocks, but I prefer to provide the seats, thereby insuring the mats ren'iaining in proper position. I prefer to form the mat of soft rubher but any other suitable elastic material may be substituted.

The railblocks are preferably set about eighteen inches apart. At the joints of abutting rails I support the rail ends by the joint blocks O which are similar to the rail blocks B, but of greater length to give greater support and also to provide clearance for the fish plates or joint plates which connect the rail ends. Thus I have found joint blocks fifty-two inches long at their base satisfactory. Owing to the length of the joint blocks I prefer toprovide them with longitudinally disposed metal reinforcement in If desiredother forms of reinforcement may be used, and the rail blocks B may also be similarly reinforced.

The longitudinal, extension of the rail blocks and the joint blocks parallel with the rails is an important feature of novelty. The blocks are thus enabled to provide a better supportfor the rails, asthe former have no tendency to tip longitudinally or roll under moving traffic but remain stationary in the ballast. Thus the tendency of traffic to pound the railsupports down into the ballast or roadbed is eliminated. This tendency is very evident in wooden crosstie installations.

Art either side of a rail-joint, I connectthe abutting rail ends by tie-rods E. The ends of the tie-rods are connected to the rails in such a manner as to give good electrical contact, so as to completethe circuit between the rails. Such contact may be effected in any sufficient manner. I prefer to flatten the ends of the tie-rods and bend them to fit flat against the bases of the rails and then spot weldl them to the rail bases. Thus in Figs. 10 and 11 I have shown the tie-rod welded to the rail base with added metal 3. a

. Thus a return or other electrical current when approaching a rail joint is carried over to the opposite rail and then back to the other side of the joint. Therefore the joint need not be bonded as is usual in railway construction. I'thus effect a very substantial economy in material and labor.

The tie-rods also serve to maintain the parallel rails in proper alinement and spacing. To assist in this last named function I may provide additional or intermediate tie-rods E. I The rail ends maybe connected together with the usual fish-plates F bolted in the usual manner to the rail ends. I

The joint blocks C are of sufficient length to permit the attachment of the rails to the block beyond the ends of the fish-plates. This gives suflicient clearance for the em ployment of standard fish-plates, and the connection of joint block, rail fastener and fish-plate provides a strong and well supported joint atwhich flexingis reduced to a minimum.

An important feature is my novel means for fastening the rails to the rail blocks and the joint blocks. My rail securingmeans,

while securely attaching the rails in place, permit the rails to expand and contract without impairing their attachment or causing the blocks to shift or creep on the roadbed.

For this purpose I have invented a novel form of rail fastener, which is of the following construction. 7

G represents transversely disposed anvexpenses and trouble.

chors embedded in the blocks adjacent to each end of the same. These anchors are preferably malleable castings and comprise two vertically disposed cylindrical sockets side of the seat 3. -The lower ends of the sockets are closed and exteriorly squared to provide a good anchorage against strain and tortion within the concrete. The bores of the sockets arethreaded to receive the clampbolts 6, the upper bores of the sockets being preferably unthreaded but of the full diameter of the bore. H represents one of theclam'ps which its down on top of the socket and through whose axial bore the bolt 6 extends. The head 7 of the clamp is enlarged and circular and has a bevelled under surface, as at 8, to overlap and bear down on the base of the rail as shown. The depending stem 9 of the clamps is cylindrical and bears against the edgeof the rail base. The top of the clamp H is provided with a concentric circular seat 10 in which is mounted the split spring ring 11 which is compressed by the circular washer 12 which overlaps the seat 10. When the bolt 6 is screwed down, the clamp is resiliently forced down into engagement with the rail, so as to prevent its jumping from the'rail block or joint block. However, the rail is free to expand and contract the'clamp II turning on its axis to permit the movement of the rail engaged thereby.

The bolt 6 does not contact with the bottom of the socket, and I prefer. to place in the bottom of the socket a piece of waste 13 permeated withv a suitable relatively stiff grease or other lubricant which will be forced. through the compression of the waste by the descent of the bolt, upwardly to lubricate the threaded engagement of the bolt and socket and prevent oxidation.

In the present railway practice, the use of wooden cross ties is a source of continual For various recognized reasons metal cross ties have not been adopted to any substantial extent, but wood is still in standard use. The wooden ties are subject to rot and deterioration, and tend to slide longitudinally in the ballast. The spikes lift and loosen and require continual watching and frequent redriving. Moreover good wooden ties are becoming more and more difficult to obtain and more expensive. Even when treated they soon begin to lose tlieinefiiciency.

Concrete cross ties have never been successful but, even when reinforced, are unable to successfully resist the injurious effects of trafiic.

My improved track blocks are practically indestructible. Their first cost is small, and

they maintain their position in the roadbed much more successfully than do the wooden ties.

WVhere the rails are spiked to wooden ties, the expansion and contraction of the rails loosens the spikes and also frequently causes the ties to creep and shift. In the case of my invention, the expansion and contraction of the rails have no impairing effect on their attachment to their support.

In steam railway practice, the track is electrically bonded to carry the signal currents and in electrical railways, such bonding is used to complete the return circuit. Bonding the track joints greatly increases the cost and such joint connections require careful inspection and frequent repairs and renewal. By using the tie rods as bonding elements, I am able to omit the expensive and troublesome bonded joints and thus save in installation, inspection and repairs.

The provision of an elastic mat or cushion between the rail and the rail blocks and joint blocks prevents pounding of the blocks and also preserves them. The resilient connection between the rail clamps and the blocks holds the rails securely attached to the blocks notwithstanding the elastic cushion interposed between the rail and the block. There is thus no looseness between the rail and its support, notwithstanding their cushioned connection.

What I desire to claim is:

l. A railway track structure wherein the two parallel rails are mounted on individual supports extending longitudinally of the rail, the alined rails having unbonded joints and the parallel rails being bonded together by metal tie-rods having their ends welded to the rails, the supports of the parallel rails being unconnected.

2. A railway track structure wherein the two parallel rails are mounted on individual supports extending longitudinally of the rail, the alinecl rails having unbonded oints and the parallel rails being bonded together at either side'of each rail joint by metal tierods having their ends welded to the rails, the supports of the parallel rails being unconnected.

3. A railway track structure wherein the two parallel rails are mounted on individual supports extending longitudinally of the rail and spaced at intervals, the alined rails having unbonded joints and the parallel rails being bonded together by metal tie-rods having their ends welded to the rails, the supports of the parallel rails being unconnected.

4;. A railway track structure wherein the two parallel rails are mounted on individual supports extending longitudinally of the rail and spaced at intervals, the alined rails having, unbonded j oints: and the parallel rails being bonded together at either side of each rail joint by metal tie-rods having their ends welded to the rails, the supports of the parallel rails being unconnected.

5. In a railway track structure, the combination with the two parallel rails, of rail supports individual to each rail and placed thereunder at spaced intervals, the rail joints being unbonded, and metal tie-rods extending transversely bet-ween the two rails and having their ends welded to the rails where by the electrical circuit is carried around the joint.

6. In a railway track structure, the combination with the two parallel rails, of rail supports individual to each rail and placed thereunder at spaced intervals, the rail oints being unbonded, and metal tie-rods extending transversely between the two rails at either side of each rail joint and having their ends welded to the rails whereby the electrical circuit is carried around the joint.

Signed at Pittsburgh, Pa., this 11th day of August, 1924:.

HARRY ETHERIDGE. 

